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A decision has been taken by the force that the majority of road traffic collisions where no injury has been caused will not be formally investigated.

This will apply to those incidents that have not been attended by officers on routine patrol. This will also apply to allegations of poor driving where no injury or damage has been caused to a third party unless there is a significant risk to the public or evidence of repeat offending.

We will assist by the checking of relevant documentation, but the reasoned expectation is that most disputes over liability will be concluded through insurance companies or other civil litigation.

We are committed to road safety and protecting members of the public from harm especially where that risk is greatest. In order to achieve this we have taken the decision to target our available resources at those drivers that regularly come to police attention and show themselves to pose a risk of injury to either themselves or other members of the public. We will not routinely consider prosecution for road traffic collisions or allegations of poor driving that have not been attended by a police officer unless there is clear evidence of a criminal offence that will pass the burden of proof required by a court of law.

We will continue to record all road traffic collisions and allegations of poor driving that are reported. We have introduced a decision making framework known as the Solvability Matrix which will be used to determine which reports will require further police investigation to evaluate offences that may have been committed. It will also be a mechanism to identify which reports should be effectively dealt with by insurance companies only without the need for a criminal investigation.

This criteria will also ensure that there is a standard approach from staff and officers across all regions of the force area in order to provide a consistent service regardless of locality. This approach means that members of the public will receive the best service possible with the resources available and provide best value for money for the tax payer.